Kingdom Come: Deliverance Weaves an Authentic Medieval RPG Tale

Dungeons, not dragons.

Authentic medieval games are few and far between, because usually if we're saving kings and drinking ale, we're also slaying some kind of legendary beast for mystical treasure. In Kingdom Come: Deliverance

, you'll be the hero or villain of an epic tale, but you won't find any scaly creatures in this 15th century adventure. I was recently treated to a short hands-off gameplay demo that showed the realistic open-world, the combat, and the crafting systems coming to Kingdom Come: Deliverance on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in early 2016. [Ed. Note: That's not a typo. 2016!]

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The story of Deliverance follows the events of a king who's been kidnapped by his brother and a young blacksmith (that's you!) sent on a quest to save him. There's no option to play as a female character for authenticity's sake, but the wide spectrum of customization options will ensure your character looks like a real medieval gentlemen.

My demo began in a castle town that, according to developer Warhorse, still stands today. Even in an early state, the visuals are incredibly detailed. On the PC version, it seemed like I could make out every cobblestone holding the castle together and each piece of woodwork in the town looked worn down and weathered. Chickens pecked through the dirt roads and stalls and buildings each had a variety of wares to buy.

Outside the castle.

To make things even more realistic, each person in town had his or her own unique look, complete with different apparel. Both the player and non-player characters (NPCs) will each have four layers of clothing options with 20 different slots to outfit themselves; 16 for clothes and armor and four for weapons. Combining certain weapons and outfits will impress particular townspeople and help raise your status, opening more social options. Each NPC also has his or her own agenda. For example, one man might fancy a visit to the pub everyday. But if you think this is a habit he should break, you can go and kill the bartender and then that NPC will find a new hobby.

Aside from ruining the lives of townspeople, there are other activities to take part in. Crafting is a crucial part of Kingdom Come: Deliverance and each one will have an associated minigame. Cooking, alchemy, fishing, and mining will all be available, along with blacksmithing, which I saw.

Before you go in to battle, or if your weapons just need some resharpening, you're going to have to head to the blacksmith stall. The blacksmithing minigame was yet another example of just how realistic Kingdom Come: Deliverance aims to be. Rather than paying some NPC a bag of coins and watching a cutscene, you actually sit down at a bench and sharpen your sword at a grindstone. I was told that if I wanted to make a sword I'd have to go through the proper steps of putting it in the forge, beating it with a hammer, and so on. Other crafting minigames will have equally as much depth.

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Once our hero prepared for battle, he set off on horseback for some first-person combat. Horses, and warhorses in particular, will play a huge part in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The powerful yet graceful creatures will assist in horseback combat along with fast travel. On our horseback ride, we set off through the European countryside and got to see Kingdom Come's landscape spread out before us. While the castle town was impressive, it was delightful to run across gorgeous rolling hills and luscious forests that were built using satellite maps.

The first-person combat of Deliverance is being developed with the help of expert fencers. As such, combat is as accurate to 15th century fighting as possible, and both you and your opponent will carry out actual medieval techniques. You'll also be able to see your hands and body when attacking, so it's easier to be more aware of what's happening during the fight. Depending on your play style, you'll be able to choose from weapon classes including crossbows, short swords, long swords, axes, maces, hammers, shields, spikes, and bows.

Wide open land.

I was only able to see a very small portion of Kingdom Come: Deliverance's features in my demo, but each one proved just how careful Warhorse is being to make sure every detail is as true to its medieval counterpart as possible. It's a long way off yet, but in the future, I'm looking forward to finding out what happened to the king via the nonlinear story and taking part in large-scale castle sieges.